Producer: American Crossroads, an independent organization whose founders include
Karl Rove, one-time top political aide to former President George W. Bush, and Ed Gillespie, former
chairman of the Republican National Committee. The ad is in support of Republican Senate candidate
Rob Portman.

Video: As a man drives a car down the road, the ad shows Democratic Senate
candidate Lee Fisher in the driver's rear and side mirrors. It uses road signs to depict its main
points, such as "Ohio jobs lost" and a "$1.1 billion job killing tax increase."

Script: Narrator: "Where will Lee Fisher take our economy? Just look behind you.
Fisher served as Gov. Strickland's top official on job creation, yet Ohio has lost almost 400,000
jobs. And Fisher wanted a $1.1 billion tax increase, which could have driven countless jobs out of
state. Fisher even supported Obama's stimulus that failed to create jobs. Ohio can't afford to keep
looking back. American Crossroads is responsible for the content of this advertising."

Analysis: If the astute Ohio political junkie has a sense of dj vu when watching
this ad, there's a good reason. It's a near copy of an ad, imagery wise, that Democrat Barack Obama
ran against Republican John McCain in the 2008 presidential race. The same use of car rear and side
view mirrors, of road and highway signs, you name it. Here is a link to that Obama ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML2ki8xEj9c

On the other hand, political plagiarism is indeed a high form of flattery. Obviously, the
American Crossroads folks think the Obama ad was effective, so they are employing the same imagery
in an attempt to make Ohio voters think Democrat Lee Fisher in the Senate would be a step backwards
for Ohio voters. Ironically, Obama continues to use the car metaphor today from the White House,
arguing that voting for Republicans in the mid-term election is like putting a car in "R" when a
vote for Democrats is a vote for continuing to operate in "D."

The ad also is a reprise of the same themes that Portman's campaign and GOP supporters like
American Crossroads have been sounding all along. The contention that Ohio lost 400,000 jobs under
Fisher's watch? Yes, Ohio's jobs picture and Fisher's role in it are fair game for the Portman
campaign. Fisher made it so by taking on the director of development's role when he took office in
2007 as lieutenant governor.

But to hold Fisher solely responsible for Ohio's job losses since then -- in the midst of a
national recession, the collapse of the housing market and near-collapse of the financial markets,
the seeds for which were planted before Fisher took office along with Gov. Ted Strickland --
is tough to digest.

Ohio has been losing jobs steadily since 2000, with that total surpassing 568,000, so there
would seem to be more than enough blame to go around. Among those in a high government position
during that time: Portman, who was a congressman from Cincinnati until 2005, when he left the House
to become first trade representative and then budget director in the George W. Bush administration.
He left Washington to return to Ohio in 2007.

And the blast at Fisher for supporting a "$1.1 billion tax increase?" That's more than a bit out
of context. That refers to Fisher coming out in support, 12 years ago, of a 1 percent sales tax
increase being promoted by a Republican, then-Gov. George V. Voinovich, as a way of raising money
for education.

And the ad's criticism of the stimulus package? The stimulus package is a tough sell to many
voters these days, especially in Ohio where the unemployment rate remains in the double digits. On
the other hand, its defenders include economist Mark Zandi, who was an adviser to McCain in 2008,
who says it saved up to 3 million jobs from being lost.

This is the second pro-Portman ad run by American Crossroads. Its first ad, which sounded
similar themes, ran in mid-August. Among the major givers to the organization: American Financial
Group, which is run by Carl Lindner, a Cincinnati billionaire and longtime Portman supporter. An
American Crossroads spokesman says Lindner's $400,000 contribution to American Crossroads in early
August was not earmarked for the Portman ad, for which the group spent $454,000. This new ad costs
$260,000, the group says. Who gave money to the group this month doesn't have to be disclosed to
the Federal Election Commission until October.